...or perhaps he was scottish. I'm talking about the guy with the thick accent that did the World Cup color commentary, I think it was for ESPN. He did the World Cup highlights show every night, too. THIS GUY IS GOLD. He makes the game exciting for the average Joe. And America loves personality + enthusiasm. His accent is not a detriment, it is an ASSET. TV is littered with successful personalities with strong accents. But mostly it's his enthusiasm that is contagious. If he did MLS games ratings would increase 50%. He just makes the game more colorful, kind of lke John Madden in the NFL. Why the heck isn't he working for MLS?
I think you're talking about Tommy Smyth. I like him a lot too. I think I have heard him do MLS games before, but I could be wrong. He also does rugby. He gets a little ribbing for his signature call when someone scores a goal he says "he put another bulge in the old onion bag", but I think it's funny. Anyway, I agree with you.
Tommy Smyth does the international league matches that ESPN shows like Champions League and La Liga (I think ESPN broadcasts some of those, I could be wrong). I believe he said in an interview that he's lived in the States (NY) for the past 16 years or something. I think he would be a great addition to MLS broadcasts. It doesn't seem like the international schedule would keep him from doing many games. I'm also not sure if he actually goes to Europe to call the games. I know during the WC he would call a game and 30 minutes later be in studio for ESPNEWS to break it down. So I assume he was not calling the game in person, but rather over a live broadcast (or else ESPN has a really fast corporate charter jet). He might do a similar thing when calling CL & La Liga matches. I don't know. But if he's in the states to call MLS matches, ESPN should make it happen. "Oh, he put a bulge in the ole onion bag." That's classic. d8n_two
I suggest all in favor of having this man do color commentary on MLS games write an e-mail (or better yet, hard-copy letter) to ESPN, ABC, and MLS (Garber). Garber's e-mail address is easy enough to get from the MLS site - does anyone know good contact addresses at ESPN and ABC?
Actually the guys who work with Smyth are excellent too. Both J.P. DellaCamera and/or Mike Hill would be terrific play by play announcers. I think a team with Smyth, Hill or DellaCamera in the booth and Rob Stone on the sidelines and between the halves would be very, very good and a lot of fun to watch and listen to. JIM DOW
My vote is for J.P. and Tommy Smyth. I am not a big fan of Mike Hill's. Plus, if we are going to have an Irishman, we need one Yank in the booth! I totally agree about Tommy and soccer, he would be like Dickie V. for college hoops, John Madden for NFL, Keith Jackson for college football, and for you Georgians, like Larry Munson is for the Dawgs! [gravelly Larry Munson voice] OH, YOU, HERSCHEL WALKER!!! [/Munson]
ABC sure can't do soccer, but hatred? No problem! Did anyone notice the obvious tension between ABC World Cup studio analysts former player Eric Wynalda and the Italian guy, Giorgio something-or-other? (Not sure of his last name). These two never agreed on a single thing and seemed to actually hate each other. Usually it went something like this: Giorgio would be asked a question and give his opinion then Wynalda would stare at him like the guy was talking nonsense and then say the exact opposite or just begin disagreeing. Then when Wynalda was first to talk and Giorgio then followed up, Wynalda would just give the guy an icy stare that said "I'd like to kill you, and you don't know crap". In fact it's a wonder the whole thing didn't digress into that anyway. I mean it was obvious, at least to me. I was surprised they actually kept the pairing cos it was so bizzare.
Re: ABC sure can't do soccer, but hatred? No problem! I'm pretty sure that ABC coaches these guys to have arguments - it's contrived. They want to create a lively "Fox NFL" type discussion. I thought it was funny to see Chinaglia try to act like Mike Ditka or Jerry Glanville on an NFL show.
That was Giorgio Chinaglia, former Italian great and New York Cosmo... I totally agree--watching them was like watching, well, two people that have a seething dislike for one another. This was, to me, in no way orchestrated by ABC. It wasn't pleasant to watch unfortunately. So I flipped to Univision. Even in Spanish, I got more out of their coverage. Couldn't they have given Ray Hudson more time? He's the guy, along with Smyth, that have the only realistic chance of selling soccer broadcasts to a wider audience.
Chinaglia , Seamus, Smyth and Ray Hudson would make a great 4 man team! Or maybe have Gazza and Hudson with Seamus O'Irish as a team. I would pay big bucks for that group announcing. It would be like having two Dandy Don Merediths and a John Madden in the both.
Not only is Smyth a great color guy, but he's a great supporter of the league. He always pimps MLS when he announces games for other leagues. JMac
Agree that Tommy Smyth is the best we got. In the WC, my favorite was (I think) Shep Messing "He hit that ball with no regard for humanity!"